Cowboy's Christmas Return by Leslie North

Author:Leslie North
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Relay Publishing

13

Scarlett felt like she was floating through the next day, living in a dream she had no wish to wake from. Even Abbott’s grumbling, more intense than usual, couldn’t put a damper on her mood. She made it through a whole day with him shooting snide, half-veiled criticisms of Travis her way without once taking the bait. She was busy getting him situated in his favorite reading spot by the picture window when Travis stepped into the living room.

“Well, will you look at this?” Abbott asked nobody in particular. “Here he is. Done with his work for the day already, I guess.”

Scarlett patted Abbott’s shoulder reassuringly, then turned to give Travis an apologetic smile. He rolled his eyes, doing little to hide the gesture from his dad. “Hey, Scarlett, I’ve been looking for you.”

“Well, you’ve found me,” she said, her smile turning warmer. “What’s up?”

“Well, I was just wondering if you might be interested in having dinner with me tonight. A proper dinner, at an actual restaurant in town. I know Buckley doesn’t have a ton of options, but there’s a nice little farm-to-table place I think you might like.”

This set Abbott off again, his grumbling decidedly more pronounced. Scarlett stood and headed for the hallway, gesturing to Travis to follow.

“God,” he said, looking in the direction of his father and running an agitated hand through his hair. “He’s in rare form today, isn’t he?”

Scarlett reached up and placed a hand on Travis’s cheek, gently forcing him to return his focus to her. “Your dad is just your dad. You know this. But what’s this I hear about dinner? Do you really think that’s a good idea? I’ve got to look out for Denver, you know.”

“Nope!” Travis said, clearly pleased with himself. “Not tonight you don’t. It’s all taken care of. I talked to Alex and Juniper, and they are more than happy to keep an eye on him. He’s basically always with the girls, anyway, so it doesn’t really require anything extra.”

With that concern answered, Scarlett was happy to accept. While he waited in the living room, talking over matters of the ranch with Alex, she hurried for her room. She hadn’t really anticipated a night out on the town when she’d packed for her temporary stay on the ranch, and she spent a pitiful amount of time worrying over how she looked. In the end, she decided on a crisp pair of black jeans and a plum-colored sweater that made her eyes stand out. She was still a little nervous heading back out to the living room to meet Travis, but she needn’t have worried. The moment he laid eyes on her, his face broke into a wide grin that made Scarlett’s heart skip a beat.

“What?” she asked with what she hoped was a nonchalant smile. “What’s that look for?”

He grinned but shook his head. “Oh, nothing. Just thinking about how lucky I am to have you to myself for an evening.”

“And you’re sure that’s okay?” She looked around the room, half-expecting to see Abbott watching her with a disapproving look.

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